NAN-H-89
School
By Usman Aliyu
Ilorin, Oct. 11, 2016 (NAN) The Kwara Government on Tuesday said it was making plans to establish a pilot model school for both the physically challenged and able bodied people in the state.
The Commissioner for Information and Communication, Alhaji Mahmud Ajeigbe, disclosed this
in Ilorin when he received the leadership of the Kwara State chapter of the Association of Persons with Joint Disability.
The commissioner said that the ministry would liaise with the Ministry of Education and Human Capital Development to make good the plan.
According to him, the school is being conceived to accord persons with disability a sense of belonging and to address issues of discrimination against them.
He added that the idea was to make access to education in the state all-inclusive, irrespective of status.
The commissioner, who condemned all forms of discrimination against people with special needs, said that the school, when operational, would run like the conventional public schools.
He said government would do everything possible to protect the interest of the physically challenged in the state to ensure that everyone was fairly treated.
He further added that the state government was ready to partner with the association to bring out the potential of its members by providing an enabling environment for them.
“What we intend to do is to discuss with the Ministry of Education to see how government can create a pilot school.
“It will be a small school aimed at seeing how we can run this co-education system whereby we can have physically challenged with people that don’t have challenges.”
He, however, added that the state government was collaborating with USAID to ensure the establishment of the school.
“We need to commend USAID for choosing Kwara State among the three selected states and for showing interest in people living with disability.
“Government will continue to have policies aimed at making life easier for people living with disability.”
Earlier, Alhaji Suleiman Dagbo, the Chairman of the association, said the group was poised to partner with the state government to ensure the integration of its members into the society.
Dagbo, who applauded the state government for its support to the association, also urged
public-spirited individuals in the society to contribute toward enhancing the wellbeing of people living with disability.
He thanked the commissioner and the state government for having the interest of members of the association at heart. (NAN)
AUO/EEM/HA
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(Edited by Emmanuel Mogbede/Hadiza Mohammed-Aliyu)